Found a sweet 2004. 23K, original owner.... typical maintenance has been done. No major issues.... I'm a single mom... am I looking for a maintenance nightmere???? seller is asking 14,500... loaded. Any suggestions? thx

 

more of a maintinence daydream....

 

I just grabbed my 2008 with 22k miles for 15k even. Not fully loaded though.

 

make sure all the TSB's have been done

have a mechanic who knows rotaries look at it

If you know how to add oil then the 8 takes no more maintenance then any other car

 

14,500 for an 04. Not a chance. With a budget like that, you oculd probably get an 06 easily. My 05 came with 20k miles for $1,000 less.

 

Being a single mom you can easily forget the maintenance schedule you need to follow in order to keep your 8 running strong.

It's nothing extremely intensive or mechanically hard, but as long as you dont mind getting your hands dirty or learning to work on your own car. You will be able to easily save a lot of money and trips to the dealership.

Adding oil to the rx8 is very common and after a while becomes 2nd nature. Also to make it easier on you keep a small note pad in the console and right down the mileage and day/month of when your last oil change was. The reason being the oil needs to be changed exactly 3 months or 3k miles. If you skimp out and neglect the car problems can arise shortly after and will not be a fun time at the dealership.

Basicly just keep up the normal maintenance on the rx8 such as oil and bi yearly coolant/transmission/differentail fluid changes. Also make sure you warm up the car before pulling off. I suggest warming up the car until the gauge goes past the C, then drive the car softly and stay off the revs (shift around or under 3k) for about 10-15 miles.


One last thing, purchase a aftermarket warranty. If your not very mechanically inclined or have time to work on your own car. The aftermarket warranty could save you in the end being a single mom. Try to do your own research on aftermarket warranties and stray away from getting one from the dealer unless they offer it in the final sale as a bonus or for cheap.


Other than that, get used to the gas mileage. Its not the greatest but its not the worst either.

Good luck on your search.

 

yeah i got a 04 rx8 gt a year ago for 12,000 at a dealership with warranty with same amount of miles.

 

While it is a low mileage car, the price seem to be set too high. Possibly as a negotiating tool. Check at NADAGuides.com for what the dealer would offer and price the car at. Another popular pricing guide is kbb.com (Kelly Blue Book), but they list prices higher than the going rate.
Remember, you are buying a rotary engine car. It can offer many pleasures over piston engined ones. However, they can be finicky. Don't skimp on the maintenance.

 

The RX-8 can be quirky and the age of an 04 could lead to issues despite it's low mileage. The extended warranty I bought saved my *** two times.

The price of that car is crazy, one of our local members traded in his 2004' RX-8 and got an 06' RX-8 Shinka with 30,000 miles and a new engine and cat and he only paid $15,000.00.

 

No offense to Adam...but most aftermarket maintenance warranties are CRAP!!! Buyer beware!!!!

 

Exactly? That seems a little O-C.

These days most places put a little transparent sticker in the top corner of the windshield with the "next oil change" info, so it's not hard to remember. It's still worth keeping a notebook with maintenance info. I do that. My firends are amused that I don't log gas mileage, but do log car washes.

As far as practicalities for a single mom...keep in mind that buying any used sports car is more of a risk than buying a dull car. But you're entitled to enjoy life...and your kid can get a job to help cover having a nice car.

Ken

 

hence why i said do research on the company who is selling the warranty. Most aftermarket are crap but there are some out there who do good.

Example. Recently my friend who has a 04 NG had an issue with his AC, and tail light condensation. He bought his car from carmax and decided to get a 3 year 100k warranty from carmax with his purchase.

He took the car in for AC and they fixed that told them they can't replace the tail light under warranty, and he will have to pay for it himself. He said alright w.e leave it alone. He gets a call back later in the day and was told there was something wrong with the transmission also and they will have to replace it under warranty. And as an added bonus they decided to replace the tail light as well.

He ultimately doesnt have to pay for a thing. The only warranty he has left from mazda is the 8 year/100k core engine.

Thats Pretty good if you ask me.


- ken-rx8

Its a little OC, but better safe than sorry. Really you should change before 3500 hits. I just dont trust Mazda's manual that says to change the oil every 7k miles.

 

I got my '06 6SP-MT with 45K Miles for $9K. Yeaaaaa-yuuuuhhh !

 

@ Adam.......no ****?!?!? That IS good